Located at Baxter Boat Dock on Table Rock Lake, Jill's Bar-B-Que II opened in June and offers slips that boaters can tie up to before ordering a meal. / Jill Presley

Written by

Wes

JOHNSON

After a long day of fishing, water skiing or wakeboarding on Table Rock Lake, there’s nothing better than pulling your boat into a lakeside slip and grabbing a bite to eat or drinking a cold root beer float.

A new lake dining spot at Baxter Boat Dock opened last month, offering boaters on the southern arm of the lake west of the Kimberling City bridge a convenient place to stop.

“We’ve had a lot of requests for barbecue food on this side of the lake for people to boat to,” said Jill Presley, owner of the popular Jill’s Bar-B-Que near Lampe. “We opened our new place at Baxter Marina on the 19th of June, and it’s working out great.

“We have slips you can ride your boat up to, and then you can pick up food to go or eat at picnic tables right there at the dock,” Presley said. “We’ve had all kinds of customers — people on pontoon boats, wakeboard boats, drive-up customers. We’re located right on the boat dock, next to the marina store.”

The menu features baby back ribs, smoked sausage, pulled pork and smoked chicken sandwiches, with side dishes of baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw and french fries.

“We’ve also been selling tons of root beer floats down there,” Presley added. “And our blackberry and peach cobbler also has been very popular.”

Boaters or landlubbers can call in orders at 417-779-9019 so they’ll be waiting when the customer arrives. The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday.

The restaurant is closed Mondays.

Presley said the restaurant likely will be open on weekends during the fall, depending on the weather and customer demand. Motorists can find the restaurant by following State Highway H until it ends near Baxter Boat Dock.